American Center for Mobility leads collaborative study on CAV truck platooning

3 MinutesBy NZ Trucking magazineSeptember 28, 2018

The American Center for Mobility (ACM) has gathered a team of organisations representing defence, academia and the public sector to further research and test automated convoy platooning in a two-year study that will feature both military and commercial grade trucks.

The study aims to autonomously control an entire fleet of vehicles – throttle, brake and steering – while optimising fuel efficiency and safety. A study of this proposed scope has not been attempted before; if completed successfully, it will be the first of its kind in the US.

Participating organisations have led multiple years of research, development, design, build, and test efforts in connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs).

“This is an unprecedented study with extensive implications as the project touches on many aspects of the CAV ecosystem,” said Jeff Rupp, chief technical officer for ACM. “Automated truck platooning promises increased fuel efficiency, improved safety and greater throughput on America‘s roads. This project is an important step to commercialising and safely deploying the technology.”

Experts predict it will take seven to 10 years for autonomously controlled trucks to be safely deployed. Working collaboratively, the group has identified and pooled resources to address deficiencies in prior platooning work studies that will contribute to shortening that window, while also realising additional opportunities for testing in controlled environments and on public roads.

“Unmanned driving has the potential to be a breakthrough capability that can enhance our mission efficiency many times over, and the potential that advancing this work at ACM brings is extraordinary,” says Bernie Theisen, ground vehicle robotics, United States Army and Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center.  “But what we‘re most excited and passionate about are the safety advances we can make here and with our other partners.”

ACM‘s purpose-built facility will be used to test increased reliability of multi-truck convoys traveling at highway speeds on elevated on-ramps, bridges, overpasses and tunnels in mixed vehicle traffic scenarios. NREL will leverage extensive previous experience precisely quantifying efficiency impacts of advanced vehicle technologies to ensure confidence in the detailed measurements for this study.

“This is another example of the collaboration that makes Michigan a leader in deploying technology for advanced mobility,” said Kirk Steudle, Michigan Department of Transportation director and interim CEO at the American Center for Mobility. “Truck platooning will pay safety and environmental benefits that we can only begin to imagine.”

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, participating organisations will conclude the study with a high-speed truck convoy demonstration staged at ACM to showcase the achievements during the two-year project.

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